Improvement in fire-arms



v S. DAY. Breech-wading Fife-arm.

Patented Oct. 8. 1840.

Nrrn TATES SILAS DAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1,810, dated October 8, 1840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILAs DAY, of the city,

county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description.

The name of this invention is Days In1- proved Valve Breech-Gun. Its nature consists in loading a gun by an aperture at the breech and closing the chamber by a sliding valve.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I proceed to describeits construction and operation, reference being had to the drawings hereunto annexed and making part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective View, showing the valve closed. Fig. 2 is the same without the stock; Fig. 3, the breech withoutthe stock, under side; Fig. ithe lever and valve; Fig. 5, longitudinal section of the breech; Fig. 6, part of the barrel where it screws in; Fig. 7, the roller-catch; Fig. 8, end of the breech where it unites with the barrel; Fig. 9, top view ofthe breech and mortise or slot.

The same letters refer to the same things in all the figures.

A is the stock of the gun; B, the barrel; 0, the hammer; D, the lever; E, the chamber; F, the projection for the mortise or slot; G, the frame for the roller-catch; H, the valve; I, the roller-catch; K, the aperture or orifice for admission of the charge; L, the slot or mortise in which moves the valve.

The breech of the gun is made of a separate piece, into which is screwed the barrel. The chamber E, Fig. 5, is larger than the bore of the barrel. It is curved in from the orifice, so that when the ball is dropped in it will roll forward to the front of the chamber and close to the countersink in the back end of the barrel. The orifice K is large enough to admit the ball, and may be larger if desirable. There 'is'a projection, F, on the side of the breech,- through which is the aperture K into the cham- Iber, made horizontally, and through which ways a smooth face and shut the chamber tight.

To load this gun, the lever D is moved down and the valve l-I displaced, opening the orifice K. The ball is then dropped in it and rolls to the countersink in the front of the chamber. The powder is then put in and fills up the chamber. The lever is then raised to close the chambenand the valve displaces any extra kernels of powder more than enough to fill it. To hold the lever in its place when raised, there is a common roller-catch and a corresponding hole or depression in the inside of the lever in which it fits. The roller is of an irregular shape, as seen in the drawings. The lever is forced over it, and held there by the roller, over which it cannot pass without springing it out a little. When thus loaded the cap is put on and the gun is ready to be discharged. The nipple should be a little different from those in common use. The hole should be slightly tunnel-shaped at the top.

I am aware that guns have been made to load at the breech by having a sliding valve to close the aperture through which the charge is inserted, but not constructed like the plan herein described, and therefore I do not claim the principle of loading at the breech as my invention; but

\Vhat I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The curved chamber, and in combination therewith the sliding valve H and its appendages, consisting of the slot L and lever D, for the purpose and in the manner herein de scribed.

SILAS DAY.

Witnesses:

J AMES LozInR, OWEN G. WARREN, ALEX. T. HAMILTON. 

